Donations

In 2010 the Supreme Court issued the ruling on Citizens United which declared campaign money to be free speech and prohibited the government from placing restrictions on campaign contributions. This caused a great deal of concern by the democratic party thinking it would be a bonanza for the republicans but over time the fury died out. In the 2012 presidential election Obama spent $1.1 billion and Romney $1 billion and there was not much effect. In 2016 Clinton spent $1.2 billion vs Trump at $774 million. In 2020 Biden spent $1.06 billion and Trump $774 million. In 2024 Harris spent $1.16 billion and Trump $477 million. If the Citizens United had any effect on campaign money it seems to have helped the democrats the most. The billionaires favor republicans but the democrats make up by small donations. When it comes to small donations (under $200) Harris leads the way with $428 million which equates to 43% of all her donations. Trump received $109 million which represented 29% of his donations. About 65% of billionaires donate to republicans. While donations get a lot of news coverage the amount of money is not having the expected results. Some say this is because the main stream news outlets are being replaced by social media.